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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
This one drug on a bit more than I would have liked, however it did introduce to the world SPECTRE which is the organization which they are going to focus on in the next few movies, as well as introducing Blofeld which is also going to be the main enemy (I guess that makes sense because Blofeld is the leader/creator of SPECTRE). Wonderfully campy and a lot of good action at the end, not to mention the best "Bond Girl" to date, but the action dropped off about half way through and they sat around deciding what to do next for nearly a hundred pages out of 250 page book. Could have been a bit more character oriented rather than plot oriented. Still an awesome series though.
One of Fleming's very best. Like how the plot is built through the careful construction of several exciting but seemingly unrelated background pictures. You can really tell that he used to be in this business himself. Had a little laughh to myself over his opinion of women drivers.
Short review: not that well written, silly. This will most likely be my last Bond novel.
Okay. Quick read, but definitely not one of Fleming's best.
Rating: 4* of five
I am viewing the Bond films on Amazon Prime. 20 are available on Prime for free viewing until 1 Sept. This entry in the book series is a little odd, because the story and the book were the subjects of prolonged litigation among the writer of the story, the author of the book, and the producers of the film. As a result, this film was made again in 1983 by the title Never Say Never Again, Sean Connery's swansong as Bond.
That was a better film.
This one also has a crap theme song sung by Tom Jones. I remembered it not at all from the first time I saw the movie in a theater, probably 1966 or 1967. I was much more impressed then by the underwater fight sequences. Now they just make me claustrophobic.
So nuclear bombs stolen by Blofeld, pretty girl tries to kill Bond, Blofeld's second in command screws up and hires the only white men in the Bahamas as henchrats and all of them screw up. Bond repeals the laws of physics as he opens metal hatches underwater with trivial ease and slams through aboveground hatches without causing any sound. Bond uses someone who deserves to die as a human shield against a 9mm round, and the bullet stops inside them. Yakity blah blah, standard Bond stuff.
What elevates this silly romper-room antic mess into four-star territory is the sheer verve and the evident glee with which all involved go after the action. Connery's genuine terror of the sharks involved in the plot makes his performance sharp. Apparently his marriage was in trouble, so he went after the women with a starved hunger that's impossible to mistake. And the world's stupidest supervillains make some HILARIOUS mistakes...fixed water cannons that could easily be sidestepped? C'mon...but gosh was this fun.
Doesn't hurt one little bit that Connery wore racy bathing suits for quite a lot of the film. Yum.
So anyway, it's not the best Bond film and it's not the best film-film, but it has zest and zing and I'm glad I rewatched it here these *gasp* forty-five or more years later. That song...what a shame. A good tune would've put it over the edge into 5-star territory!
I am viewing the Bond films on Amazon Prime. 20 are available on Prime for free viewing until 1 Sept. This entry in the book series is a little odd, because the story and the book were the subjects of prolonged litigation among the writer of the story, the author of the book, and the producers of the film. As a result, this film was made again in 1983 by the title Never Say Never Again, Sean Connery's swansong as Bond.
That was a better film.
This one also has a crap theme song sung by Tom Jones. I remembered it not at all from the first time I saw the movie in a theater, probably 1966 or 1967. I was much more impressed then by the underwater fight sequences. Now they just make me claustrophobic.
So nuclear bombs stolen by Blofeld, pretty girl tries to kill Bond, Blofeld's second in command screws up and hires the only white men in the Bahamas as henchrats and all of them screw up. Bond repeals the laws of physics as he opens metal hatches underwater with trivial ease and slams through aboveground hatches without causing any sound. Bond uses someone who deserves to die as a human shield against a 9mm round, and the bullet stops inside them. Yakity blah blah, standard Bond stuff.
What elevates this silly romper-room antic mess into four-star territory is the sheer verve and the evident glee with which all involved go after the action. Connery's genuine terror of the sharks involved in the plot makes his performance sharp. Apparently his marriage was in trouble, so he went after the women with a starved hunger that's impossible to mistake. And the world's stupidest supervillains make some HILARIOUS mistakes...fixed water cannons that could easily be sidestepped? C'mon...but gosh was this fun.
Doesn't hurt one little bit that Connery wore racy bathing suits for quite a lot of the film. Yum.
So anyway, it's not the best Bond film and it's not the best film-film, but it has zest and zing and I'm glad I rewatched it here these *gasp* forty-five or more years later. That song...what a shame. A good tune would've put it over the edge into 5-star territory!
adventurous
medium-paced
From IMDb:
James Bond heads to The Bahamas to recover two nuclear warheads stolen by SPECTRE agent Emilio Largo in an international extortion scheme.
James Bond heads to The Bahamas to recover two nuclear warheads stolen by SPECTRE agent Emilio Largo in an international extortion scheme.
**Review updated following the BBC Radio production.**
Thunderball is the 9th James Bond book by Ian Fleming. It's one my favourites of the original series. It has it all:
M – check,
Moneypenny – check,
May – check,
Felix – check,
Exotic location – check,
Beautiful girl with catchy name – check,
Car – check,
Walther PPK – check,
Blofeld and SPECTRE – check,
Atomic bombs – check.
I could go on but you get the picture …
I liked the way that the book opens with Bond in need of a serious detox. Fleming describes a hangover, I'm guessing from his own experience, in a wonderful way. After reading this I realised just how descriptive Fleming was with his prose. This is especially the case when we get to the underwater battles later in the book. Fleming must have loved the sea and diving. His portrayal of frogman Bond is rich and atmospheric, for example: Bond sneaking around the Disco, the battle with SPECTRE scuba divers and the various sea life.
The novel is a tough straightforward thriller with an exciting plot. The 1967 movie of the same name follows the book. If you've seen this then it'll help you to conceptualise the story and scenes described.
It all rattles along at a nice pace with a sprinkle of humour and panache. Thunderball also has less violence as compared to other books in the series too.
The focus of Thunderball is on Bond himself. Again, Bond comes off as a rather vulnerable person, riddled with self-doubt. He’s definitely not the superhero that we see in some of the movies. Of course, we get the usual misogyny and abuse. But by this point in series it doesn't come as much of a shock any more.
We also get to see Bond in scenes with some favourite characters. Not only M but Moneypenny, who was missing from the last couple of novels. Felix Leiter and Bond's Scottish housekeeper, May who gives Bond a telling off also appear too. The only character that is missing is Q meaning he gadgets and gimmicks so prevalent in the movies are missing. For me this enhances the story and definitely doesn't make the book less entertaining.
The last part of the novel was a slight let down. In a Bond movie this part of the story is the big climax but not here. What Fleming gives us is rather lukewarm. There’s no big punch or crescendo as we nonchalantly learn that Blofield has escaped.
So in summary, this is a fun novel and worth reading even if you’re not the biggest Bond fan. The exotic mixture makes for an exhilarating page turning thriller. A polished performance from Fleming, with an action packed ingenious plot full of excitement.
Thunderball is the 9th James Bond book by Ian Fleming. It's one my favourites of the original series. It has it all:
M – check,
Moneypenny – check,
May – check,
Felix – check,
Exotic location – check,
Beautiful girl with catchy name – check,
Car – check,
Walther PPK – check,
Blofeld and SPECTRE – check,
Atomic bombs – check.
I could go on but you get the picture …
I liked the way that the book opens with Bond in need of a serious detox. Fleming describes a hangover, I'm guessing from his own experience, in a wonderful way. After reading this I realised just how descriptive Fleming was with his prose. This is especially the case when we get to the underwater battles later in the book. Fleming must have loved the sea and diving. His portrayal of frogman Bond is rich and atmospheric, for example: Bond sneaking around the Disco, the battle with SPECTRE scuba divers and the various sea life.
The novel is a tough straightforward thriller with an exciting plot. The 1967 movie of the same name follows the book. If you've seen this then it'll help you to conceptualise the story and scenes described.
It all rattles along at a nice pace with a sprinkle of humour and panache. Thunderball also has less violence as compared to other books in the series too.
The focus of Thunderball is on Bond himself. Again, Bond comes off as a rather vulnerable person, riddled with self-doubt. He’s definitely not the superhero that we see in some of the movies. Of course, we get the usual misogyny and abuse. But by this point in series it doesn't come as much of a shock any more.
We also get to see Bond in scenes with some favourite characters. Not only M but Moneypenny, who was missing from the last couple of novels. Felix Leiter and Bond's Scottish housekeeper, May who gives Bond a telling off also appear too. The only character that is missing is Q meaning he gadgets and gimmicks so prevalent in the movies are missing. For me this enhances the story and definitely doesn't make the book less entertaining.
The last part of the novel was a slight let down. In a Bond movie this part of the story is the big climax but not here. What Fleming gives us is rather lukewarm. There’s no big punch or crescendo as we nonchalantly learn that Blofield has escaped.
So in summary, this is a fun novel and worth reading even if you’re not the biggest Bond fan. The exotic mixture makes for an exhilarating page turning thriller. A polished performance from Fleming, with an action packed ingenious plot full of excitement.
I’m listening to the audios of this series out of order and it was a bit jarring to hear how Bond had changed from the first book. The book starts with him being sent to a wellness clinic because M says he needs to be at top peak fitness, surprising this does have some bearing on the book later on when he goes to the Bahamas on assignment when a plane goes missing with nuclear bombs aboard and the world is being blackmailed. I liked this one more than Casino Royal, but things were a bit jarring listening to the audio as the book goes into the history of a type of cigarette and various other meanderings in the story. I’ll pick up another one for the next car trip with my husband.
I struggled with the first half of this, partly because there was too much technical description and too much back story for the members of Spectre. Also the narrator sounded quite bored during those parts. He excelled at the different accents particular Blofeld, Emilio Largo and Felix Leiter. Interestingly enough he mentions in the interview how much enjoyed reading Largo's part so that explains it. It hasn't put off the Bond books as I've still got a few to listen to.